Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Pro-cartoon song angers Muslims

RABAT, March 8, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – A song insulting Muslims, which won the top award of a local festival recently held in the Spanish colony of Sebta, has sparked an outcry from the Muslim majority, who demanded an apology from the administrative government for condoning the incident and the withdrawal of the award…

The lyrics of the award-winning song in the popular Chirigota festival described Muslims as "animals" and "bastards."

The song, which also mocked the Adhan (call to prayer), further won the best lyrics honor.

The Google translation of the above page doesn’t make much sense of the lyrics, although you can see from the analysis that the songwriter claims she wasn’t badmouthing all Muslims (Turks), just those who had responded to the cartoons with violence. She says she's been misinterpreted and therefore refuses to apologise.

Can anyone offer a decent translation? There's Hitler and everything in there. I can’t even figure out the meaning of the band’s name - Los polluelos con pelo en los güevo (it involves chicks, hair and possibly eggs or balls but that’s the best I can do). I believe the last line means "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees", which echoes a rather famous song by James Brown.

Any Spanish speakers care to help me out?

Update. From the comments (many thanks):

The song would loosely translate more or less to:

They've made a caricature of Christ that no way resembles mine, even in a painting. And MY culture isn't insane. I went straight to the encyclopedia of nature, to find out if indeed the turks are rational animals. I saw that they're the same as cattle, so all doubt was removed: they're all just dumb animals. I called my mother and she told me to be silent and not sing what others don't dare say. One thing before I leave: How badly Hitler did it! Here I am unarmed and showing my naked face, I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

Hmmm. I may be missing the nuances of the original language but I'm not entirely convinced by the songwriter's defence. I think I got the sex of the writer wrong too.

Note to self - don't blog about stuff based on a Google translation.

Update 2. This translation from Peter Spence in the comments seems to give a better sense of the song. Excellent work Peter.

They drew a cartoon Christ for meDon’t look like mine as far as I can seeAnd my culture isn’t so damn tweeI looked through a book on natural historyTo see if the TurksHave anything to say to meI saw they’re just wild creaturesNow I know: they’ve no redeeming features

My mother called meAnd told me to keep quietAnd not to keep repeating what nobody dares repeatSo before I go: Hitler got it wrong!Here I am unarmed and face to faceI’d rather die on my feet than live as a slave race

Yes, it's an angry song but the songwriter is correct to stand firm. I don't recall hearing an apology for all the cartoons that appear regularly in Arab newspapers showing Jews drinking children's blood.

(Picture from here)Update 2. Thanks to Spanish Eowyn from Eurabian News who has also sent a version. He says the song is in 'daily Spanish' so isn’t easy to translate.

They have painted my Christ in a cartoonThat does not look like mine in anythingAnd my culture is not foolishI went to grab my Sciences bookTo see if the TurksWere rational animalsI saw that these guys and the cows are the sameAnd the doubt went off: they are all animals

My mother has called meAnd has told me to shut upThat I should not sing what no one singsJust before I go: Hitler did it all very wrong!Here am I: just here and unarmedI prefer to die standing up than to live on my knees(That's enough versions of the song - Ed)

Eowyn says that the song is “ONLY referring to the Turks that took part in the riots about the cartoons”, and clarifies that the message near the end is anti-Hitler. He also points out that an opportunistic socialist politician and gay activist called Pedro Zerolo is helping to stir up the controversy. Last year Zerolo was happy to lead a gay pride parade where symbols of Christianity were mocked. Now he sides with Islamists who would put him to death for his sexuality.

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

The song would loosely translate more or less to: They've made a caricature of Christ that no way resembles mine, even in a painting. And MY culture isn't insane. I went straight to the encyclopedia of nature, to find out if indeed the turks are rational animals. I saw that they're the same as cattle, so all doubt was removed: they're all just dumb animals. I called my mother and she told me to be silent and not sing what others don't dare say. One thing before I leave: How badly Hitler did it! Here I am unarmed and showing my naked face, I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

They drew a cartoon Christ for meDon’t look like mine as far as I can seeAnd my culture isn’t so damn tweeI looked through a book on natural history To see if the Turks Have anything to say to meI saw they’re just wild creatures Now I know: they’ve no redeeming features

My mother called meAnd told me to keep quietAnd not to keep repeating what nobody dares repeatSo before I go: Hitler got it wrong!Here I am unarmed and face to face I’d rather die on my feet than live as a slave race